New Orleans Pelicans: Stubborn negotiating could backfire

The New Orleans Pelicans could be making a horrific mistake in handling Anthony Davis’ trade request. The Los Angeles Lakers are clearly the frontrunner to land the five-time All-Star, but the Pelicans’ asking price may be too much.

According to ESPN reports, the Los Angeles Lakers offered Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, two first round draft picks, along with significant salary cap relief, to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Anthony Davis.

How general manager Dell Demps was able to turn down that deal is beyond me.

The Lakers are offering the best players on the team not named LeBron James. All three of them are under the age of 23, which gives the Pelicans a solid foundation for years to come. There isn’t a sweeter deal on the table.

According to reports, Anthony Davis has listed the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks as his desired destinations aside from the Lakers.

The Knicks no longer have enough talent to trade for AD after the Kristaps Porzingis move to the Dallas Mavericks, and the Bucks and Clippers are far from putting together a trade that rivals what the Lakers have to offer. So what’s the hold up? Why are the Pelicans being so stubborn?

It feels like the Pelicans are trying to make a statement more than make the best move for the franchise. They are tired of being pushed into a trade by a superstar athletes and their agents. Perhaps the wound caused by the deal that sent Chris Paul to the Clippers hasn’t fully healed.

The offer that is currently on the table is fair. The Pelicans have an opportunity to acquire young talent that has proven the ability to play at a high level.

One of the biggest problems for the Pelicans this season has been the lack of evenly distributed scoring. Anthony Davis is relied upon to get much-needed baskets while also being the team’s defensive anchor. This deal wouldn’t improve the squad defensively, but would certainly improve the total number of offensive weapons on the floor at any given time.

Kyle Kuzma is averaging 18.6 points and 5.7 rebounds a night. His offensive rating falls is just shy of matching All-Star snub Donovan Mitchell. 

Brandon Ingram, who is scoring 17.1 points per game, adds even more offense to the Pelicans lineup. He’s shooting a career best 48.7 percent from the field. Lonzo Ball is having a lackluster year on the stat sheet, averaging just 9.9 points per game with 5.4 assists a night, but he would certainly benefit from a situation where he had the ball more. Jrue Holiday pushes the point for the Pelicans, but they prefer to play him at the 2.

Critics will argue that none of the three players has proven to be All-Star caliber talent at this stage in their careers, but it’s important to look at the upside. Even if you don’t believe in Lonzo as much as his father LaVar Ball does, he’s worth a look.

Kuzma and Ingram have been shaky at times this year, but the same thing happened to veteran superstars when they teamed up with LeBron James. Just ask Chris Bosh and Kevin Love. It makes sense that young players, still trying to figure out their own games, will have a bit of a learning curve. In trading Anthony Davis, the Pelicans shouldn’t be looking for players that are as good as him. The question should be can these guys collectively provide the same amount of wins.

The two first round picks mentioned in the deal will likely be in the middle of the pack if not the end of the first round, thanks to where LeBron James and the Lakers are expected to finish in the standings for the foreseeable future.

With that being said, there’s typically a ton of talent available later in the draft. Kyle Lowry, Rajon Rondo and Tony Parker were all drafted with the 20th pick or worse. If the Pelicans evaluate talent well and add the best pieces to complement their style of play, things could be looking up.

Reports that New Orleans is asking for two additional first round draft picks are absurd. It’s almost as if the Pelicans are trying to get the Lakers to walk away from the negotiation table.

The Pelicans know that they don’t have to make a move by Thursday’s trade deadline. They can wait until the summer and entertain teams like the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. Perhaps someone is willing to offer the No. 1 pick in the draft for Davis. Once July 1 arrives, the Celtics are then free to deal for AD and try to re-sign Kyrie Irving. Keep in mind, the Celtics also own the rights to highly coveted draft picks over the next few years and could offer Jayson Tatum.

That sounds good in theory. But what if Anthony Davis stays in NOLA past the trade deadline, refuses to be shut down for the year and suffers a serious injury? We already saw what the market looks like for a perennial All-Star coming off of major surgery. The Golden State Warriors signed DeMarcus Cousins for a mere $5 million this summer, because no one wanted to touch damaged goods. What can the Pelicans expect to get in return for AD if that happens?

There’s also a slight possibility that the Pelicans think they still have time to get AD to change his mind. Davis could be forced to play the entire 2019-20 season for a team he already tried to leave. It would seem like more of a spiteful decision than a negotiation tactic. More importantly, it would leave the Pelicans with nothing in return for the superstar talent when he finally leaves town.

One thing is for certain during the heated Anthony Davis trade talks: The Pelicans are on the national radar. Who would have ever thought that basketball in New Orleans would dominate sports news during the week leading up to the Super Bowl? And yet, that’s exactly what happened.

Unfortunately for the Pelicans, this isn’t the type of attention that a team wants. Holding a player’s career hostage isn’t going to entice All-Stars to sign with NOLA in the future either.

The Pelicans need to face the facts. They had a solid seven-year run with Anthony Davis, but they never came close to competing for a championship. No one should be pointing the blame at AD, but if it’s not working, something needs to change. There’s no sense in being stubborn, especially when there’s a decent offer on the table.

If the Pelicans don’t realize that before Thursday’s trade deadline, they have a lot more to worry about than just losing Davis in 2020, or selling low should the Knicks miss out on the No. 1 pick and the Celtics back off from offering Tatum. The franchise will be in danger of losing loyal fans who can’t understand why they didn’t take the deal that makes sense.